DECRIMINALIZING NEIGHBORHOODS
Promoting a New Vision of Public Safety, Association & Belonging
MEET THE DECRIMINALIZING NEIGHBORHOODS NETWORK COMMITTEE
SEAN GARCIA-LEYS
Co-Director
Sean Garcia-Leys is a civil rights attorney and public safety advocate who works to end law enforcement’s counterproductive gang suppression strategies. He has successfully fought gang injunctions in LA, Orange, and Ventura counties; was instrumental in reducing the number of people in the CalGang database from 200,000 to 60,000 and ending LAPD’s participation in CalGang; and has testified as a gang expert in immigration court where he has successfully helped stop deportations. He is the recipient of the 2017 Chicano Hero award from Chicanxs Unidxs and the 2018 Equal Justice award from the ACLU of Southern California. Sean Garcia-Leys is the Executive Director of the Peace and Justice Law Center, a Visiting Scholar and MTO Fellow at the Criminal Justice Clinic of UCI Law School, and a Commissioner of the Los Angeles County Probation Oversight Commission.
ANDREA ST. JULIAN
Co-Director
Andrea St. Julian is an attorney whose thirty-year practice focuses on federal and state civil and criminal appeals. Andrea is certified by the California Board of Legal Specialization as an appellate specialist and is the author of a range of articles found in various legal publications. As a board member of the Earl B. Gilliam Bar Association and the ACLU, San Diego and Imperial Counties, Andrea is active in the community, working on such projects as the San Diego Participatory Defense Group, also known as F.R.E.E. SD, and the Coalition for Police Accountability and Transparency (CPAT).
KEMIYA NUTTER
Deputy Director
Kemiya Nutter is a recent graduate from the University of San Diego with a BA in both Ethnic Studies and Sociology, with an emphasis in Law, Crime, and Justice. Kemiya is invested in community organizing and public policy advocacy, with a mission to empower and uplift voices from underserved communities, particularly those embroiled in and transitioning out of the criminal justice system. Kemiya partners with non-profit organizations to design and implement education, employment, and empowerment programs aimed towards the justice-involved reentry population. Kemiya is active in the San Diego Freedom Fund, a local bail fund conducted in collaboration with Community Advocates For Just and Moral Governance, the Federal Defenders of San Diego, and The Bail Project.
LAILA AZIZ
Southern California
Network Committee Member
Program Director, Pillars of the Community
MARESA MARTIN TALBERT
Southern California
Network Committee Member
Founding Attorney, Talbert Law Office
MANO RAJU
Northern California
Network Committee Member
Public Defender, City and County of San Francisco
MICHAEL SAAVEDRA
Southern California
Network Committee Member
Community Engagement Organizer, Dignity and Power Now
JOSE VALLE
Northern California
Network Committee Member
Community Organizer, Silicon Valley De-Bug
JOIA ERIN THORNTON
Atlanta, Georgia
Network Committee Member
National Policy Strategist, Southern Center For Human Rights
MARQUIS JENKINS
New York
Network Committee Member
Founder, JENCOA LLC